


RWBY Relationship Week 2

by BranwenOSV



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Other, Suicidal Thoughts, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 17:36:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2701490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BranwenOSV/pseuds/BranwenOSV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My collection of stories from RWBY Relationship Week 2 (rwbyrsweek) on Tumblr. Rated Mature due to story 5 having softcore smut and story 7 containing suicidal thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What’s There to Hide?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would she know about what’s it like to hide your real identity? A lot more than you’d realize.  
> Pairing: Penny & Blake  
> Relationship: Friendship  
> Genre: Drama  
> Word Count: 1525

The city of Vale was dead quiet during the night; it was the perfect time for Blake to get out and do some training on her own. Between classes and hanging out with her team, she has had far less time to be practicing her stealth skills. As good as her stealth already was, she was worried about getting sloppy. She needed to make sure her skills were nothing but perfect. She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, landing quietly with each step. She jumped to the tallest building she could find, then jumped off the roof and created shadow clones to jump off of and land safely on the sidewalk, all without making a noise. So far so good she thought. Now to get ready for the next part of her training.

  
"Hello Blake my friend!" said a cheery voice out of nowhere, causing Blake to nearly jump out of her skin and fall. Blake frantically turned around and saw Penny standing next to her.  
"Penny?" said Blake. "What are you doing out so late?"  
"I’ve never been out in the city at night," said Penny. "I wanted to observe what it was like. Are you as curious as I am?"  
"Not really, no," said Blake.  
"Why not?"  
"Well, because I already know what’s it like at night."  
"Is it always this boring?"  
"Boring?"  
"All the shops are closed and nobody is out doing anything."  
"In other words, it’s peaceful and quiet. Exactly the way I want it."  
"Why is that?"  
"Because than nobody can bother me when I’m training," said Blake. It took Blake a second to realize that she accidentally insulted Penny. "I mean, not that you’re bothering me or anything-"  
"You train at night?" said Penny, unphased by Blake’s remark. "Why would you train at night?"  
Blake sighed, relieved that Penny didn’t catch what Blake said. “Listen, while we’re out here, let’s go find a place to sit.”  
"Okay!" said Penny. The two of them relocated to the center square and sat on a bench. "I don’t know anybody who would train at night. To me it sounds inconvenient since you can’t see."  
"Actually, I can see just fine at night," said Blake.  
"Oh right! I forgot that Faunus are able to see at night!"  
"Exactly. So…," Blake paused and realized Penny just said the other, other dreaded F word. "Wait, you know I’m a Faunus?"  
"Of course I do," said Penny like it was somehow obvious. "I can see your cat ears."  
"You can tell they are ears even with my ribbon on? How?"  
"Easy. By scanning your…," Penny stopped, realizing she was about to say something her creators wouldn’t want her to be sharing. "I mean, I have really good eyes is all."

  
Blake thought about questioning what Penny was talking about, but decided that the less she had to chat with Penny, the quicker she can go back to training.

  
"Good eyes indeed," said Blake.  
"If you don’t mind me asking," said Penny, "why do you hide your ears?"  
"It’s personal.”  
"Is it because they’re ugly?"  
"No," said Blake in a somewhat annoyed tone. Hopefully she said it in a way that would make Penny realize she should stop asking.  
"Is it because you’re keeping them warm?"  
"No," said Blake in an even more annoyed tone. Was Penny seriously this bad at taking a hint?  
"Is it because you hate being a Faunus?"  
"What?" yelled Blake. Now Blake was really mad.  
"I said, is it because you hate-"  
"No!" said Blake. "Penny, I just don’t want to share why I hide my ears, okay? So just stop asking!"  
Blake stood up and started walking off. She only took a few steps before Penny asked another question.  
"Do you hide them from Ruby?" asked Penny.  
Blake stopped and turned back to face Penny. “What?” said Blake.  
"Do you hide them from Ruby, and Weiss, and Yang as well?"  
"What are you getting at?"  
"Do you always hide your ears, even in front of your friends?"  
"Yes Penny," said Blake. "I hide them from everybody, even my friends."  
"Is it because if you showed them, they won’t want to be your friend anymore?"  
Blake realized that at the rate Penny was asking these questions, she would get close to the truth eventually. Really wanting to get back to training, Blake decided to finally tell Penny the truth.  
"Fine Penny, you win," said Blake. "The reason I hide my ears is because I’m trying to hide my identity."  
"So you do hate being a Faunus," said Penny.  
"No I don’t! I’m proud of being a Faunus."  
"So why try so hard to hide it?"  
"It’s hard to explain. Someone like you wouldn’t understand what it’s like to have to hide your identity."  
"What makes you think I wouldn’t understand?" asked Penny. Blake had no response. She did have one in mind, but it would involve having to bring up her past again, and how Penny didn’t know a thing about dealing with true hardships. "Blake, I want to show you something."  
Penny grabbed her right leg and suddenly detached it from her body. Blake was stunned to see Penny remove her leg.  
"Take a look." Penny handed her leg over to Blake. Blake grabbed the leg and realized it was heavier than a normal leg. She knocked against it and heard a slight clanking noise. Blake realized this leg was made of metal.  
"Penny," said Blake, "what are you exactly?"  
"I shouldn’t be telling you this, but because you’re my friend I’ll make an exception," said Penny. "I’m an android. On the surface I look like any other human, but I’m secretly a robot."  
"That definitely explains a lot," said Blake.  
"My creators are always telling me about how I shouldn’t be close to anybody. They said if someone realized that I was an android, they’d start asking questions. Questions that can lead to serious consequences."  
"Like what exactly you were built for?"  
"Yes. Questions like that. It made me sad that being like this was the reason I couldn’t have any friends. All because I’m something others are not."

  
That was when Blake realized how mistaken she was. Penny may not have faced the kind of hardships and discrimination that Blake has had, but her and Penny had something in common: Their true selves is what kept them from avoiding others.

  
Penny took back her leg and attached it back to her body. “Is that why you too are sad Blake?” she asked.  
"Sort of," said Blake. "But there’s a big difference between you and I Penny."  
"What is it?"  
"You never put yourself in the situation you’re in. I’m not just hiding my identity because I’m a Faunus. I’ve done some terrible things. Things that can’t easily be forgiven."  
"Well I forgive you Blake."  
"You don’t even know what I’ve done."  
"Why does that matter? Friends are supposed to forgive each other right? Unless you don’t think we’re actually friends."  
Blake smiled and placed a hand on Penny’s shoulder. “We are friends,” said Blake. “Thanks for the talk Penny. I’ve got to get back to training.”  
"Before you go Blake my friend," said Penny, "can I make a suggestion?"  
"What is it?"  
"If you really want to hide your identity, you should wear a hat."  
"I don’t think a hat would really help. Besides, I like my ribbon."  
"Then perhaps what you really need is a bigger ribbon!" said Penny. She reached behind her head and removed the ribbon she was wearing. "Here, you can have this one!"  
"Thank you, but I don’t need-"  
"I insist! Anything to help a friend!"  
Blake sighed and reluctantly took the ribbon and placed it in her pocket. “Thanks. Goodbye Penny. It was nice to talk to you,” said Blake, quickly dashing off.  
"Take care friend!" said Penny, waving goodbye.

  
Blake disappeared into a dark alley. She was about to jump between the buildings and head to the roof when she noticed a cracked mirror near a trash can. Blake picked up the mirror and looked at her reflection, focusing on the bow on top of her head. Blake started to wonder how she would look with Penny’s ribbon. Curiosity getting the best of her, she took out Penny’s ribbon and switched it with hers. Looking back at the mirror, the color of her new bow really stood out in contrast to her monochromatic attire.

  
"That would never work," said Blake, quickly taking it off. She put on her own ribbon and was about to go, but then had a different idea. She grabbed her hair and used Penny’s ribbon to wrap around it. After she was done, her hair was now in a short ponytail. She looked in the reflection and smiled. While she liked her original hairstyle, she did like how having less hair to move around would make being stealthy more easy. She hated to admit it, but Blake thought her new look was actually kind of cute. "Guess I have a use for this after all. Thanks Penny."

She climbed back to top of the building and continued her training.


	2. Flight of the Valkyrie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captured and losing her precious Magnhild, things looked bleak for our brave and beautiful heroine. How can she possibly escape alive?  
> Pairing: Roman & Nora  
> Relationship: Antagonist  
> Genre: Humor / Action  
> Word Count: 1322

When Nora received word that Roman was up to his old tricks, she thought it was just going to be another routine mission. Bust Roman, kick his butt, and return all the stolen dust to their rightful owners. But this time Roman came prepared. Roman had sent out a fake distress signal to lure Nora into his warehouse. When Nora arrived, Roman and his gang had gotten the jump on her. Nora now found herself completely bound to a chair, her mighty weapon being held hostage by the dastardly Roman Torchwick.

  
"Did you really think that you, Nora Valkyrie, stood a chance against the master of underground crime, Roman Torchwick?" said Roman.  
"Well I have beaten you at least 99 times in the past," said Nora. "I figured this would be no different."  
"Well not this time!" said Roman. "This time it’s Roman Torchwick who gets the last laugh! With you out of the way, there’ll be no one to stop me from obtaining all the world’s dust and taking over the world!"

  
Roman let out his trademark evil laugh, then turned around and started walking off. “Finish the job boys!” said Roman before he left the warehouse. Three of Roman’s men stood in front of Nora with machine guns in hand, ready to finish off the brave and beautiful heroine once and for all.

  
"Any last words before we fill you full of lead?" said one of the men.  
"Please boys," said Nora, "can’t we work something out? I mean, do you really want to hurt such an adorable girl as myself?"  
"Sorry pretty lady. Boss’ orders."  
"Please don’t! I’ll do anything!" begged Nora.  
"Anything?" said one of the men. The men quickly gathered in a huddle. They discussed what they wanted to do to Nora, and all laughed.  
"So you’ll REALLY do anything?" one of them said.  
"I mean anything!" said Nora.  
"In that case…we want you to make out with all of us!"  
"It’s a deal!" said Nora. The men were surprised Nora was so willing to their desires. One of the men got behind her and untied all her ropes. As soon as she stood up, one of the other men grabbed her in an embrace.  
"You better not pull any funny business," he said.  
"Oh mister," said Nora in a seductive tone, "there’s nothing funny about my business at all."

The man smiled and leaned forward for a kiss. Just as Nora was about to kiss him, Nora suddenly grabbed the man’s katana by his waist, turned him around, and held the blade to his throat. The other two quickly aimed their guns at Nora.

  
"Put down the weapons or he gets sliced like bologna!" said Nora.  
"Please!" said one of the men. "We know a goody two-shoes like you would never kill a man like that!"  
"Oh yeah," said Nora. Nora pushed her hostage into the men and knocked them down. As they tried to get up and fire at Nora, Nora quickly slashed the guns to pieces. Realizing the three of them were no match against the mighty huntress, they ran away screaming for backup.

  
Just as Nora thought she was about to escape, she suddenly found herself surrounded by about three dozen of Roman’s henchmen, all carrying an axe or a katana. Usually Nora would easily take them out with her mighty hammer, but was stuck with her katana for now. Still though, she welcomed the challenge. Several of the henchmen charged at once. Before they reached her, Nora suddenly jumped high into the air as they all collided into each other. Once Nora landed on her feet, she began slicing every minion that came her way. Nora would go on to set a new personal record for longest combo without getting hit.

  
Meanwhile, Roman and some of his men were holding up the First National Dust Bank. Everyone in the bank stood still in fear as Roman’s men loaded up their trucks with all the dust.

  
"Thank you all for your kind donations to the Roman empire!" said Roman. "Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to visit the Second National Dust Bank!"

Suddenly one of his minions outside crashed through the front window of the bank. As Roman turned to see what happened, more of his minions started to fly into the bank through the same window.

"What’s going on?" yelled Roman.

"Your empire is about to fall!" yelled a familiar enthusiastic voice. Roman turned to the door to see his arch nemesis Nora Valkyrie.  
"Nora Valkyrie!" said Roman. "I don’t know how you were able to escape, but this time you won’t defeat me! Not as long as I have this!"

Roman pulled out Nora’s Magnhild in grenade launcher mode and fired at Nora. Quick to react, Nora rotated her katana to the blunt side and knocked the grenade back at Roman. The grenade knocked Roman down and caused him to drop Magnhild. Nora quickly picked up her weapon she was so happy to be reunited with.

  
"That’ll teach you for taking my weapon!" said Nora.  
"Argh, no matter!" said Roman. "Who needs an oversized carpenters tool when I have this?"

  
Roman suddenly held up his cane and fired a blast at Nora. Nora held up her weapon to block the attack but the force of the explosion knocked her out of the building. As Nora lied dazed in the street, Roman charged at Nora and swung his cane down. Nora blocked the attack just in time with her hammer, and kicked Roman away. The two of them then proceeded to fight cane to hammer, swinging and blocking every blow that came to each other.

Eventually Roman was no match for Nora as Nora was able to knock his cane away. Before Nora can finish the fight, Roman suddenly pulled out a remote with a button on it.

"Not so fast there Valkyrie!" said Roman. "This remote is the detonator to the bomb I’ve planted inside the bank! Make one more move and I blow this whole block to kingdom come! Now drop the hammer!"

  
Realizing she had no choice if she wanted to save the innocent people of Vale, Nora dropped Magnhild and raised her arms up in defeat. Roman laughed as he slowly walked over to where his cane was, keeping an eye on Nora the whole time. He turned his attention away for one second to pick up his cane. In that one second, Nora quickly grabbed the katana that was by her waist and flung it at Roman. As Roman grabbed his cane, the katana hit his wrist and knocked the remote away. Roman tried to get the remote but Nora picked up Magnhild and ran to Roman. Just when Roman was centimeters away from pressing the button, Nora slammed her hammer on to Roman’s back, causing his body to be paralyzed in pain.

  
The police soon arrived and once again arrested Roman.  
"Curses!" yelled Roman. "This time I was so close!"  
"If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times!" said Nora. "Crime. Doesn’t. Pay!"

  
#

  
"And that is how I, Nora Valkyrie, defeated the evil Roman Torchwick for the 100th time!" said Nora to everyone at the cafeteria table. Nora was telling one of her fantasy stories again. Only Yang was really invested in the story. The rest either tried to ignore her or couldn’t believe what she was saying.  
"Wow! That was amazing!" said Yang.  
"Amazing?" said Weiss. "I counted at least seven continuity errors! Do you even proofread your stories before blurting them out?"  
"What other stories have you got?" asked Yang, ignoring Weiss’ criticism.  
"How about…Nora vs. The Abominable Snowgrimm!" said Nora.  
"Please don’t!" said Weiss.  
"It all started when I received a mission to go to the Jaro mountains," said Nora. Weiss got up and immediately left, not having to want to hear another horribly told story.


	3. The Silent Treatment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She always went to the library in order to get peace of mind and away from her teammates, never realizing the damage she was causing herself.  
> Pairing: Blake & Ren  
> Relationship: Friendship  
> Genre: Drama  
> Word Count: 1684

Visiting the library was the best part of Blake’s day; especially today. Weiss was throwing a fit about something Yang did and Ruby was trying to play peacemaker to no avail. Blake wasn’t paying attention to what the argument was about, and it didn’t matter. Blake was now in her happy place. A place where she can get peace and quiet from her teammates for at least an hour. It was all part of her daily routine: Get to the library, grab whatever book she was reading, head to her corner and enter a state of Zen that wasn’t possible with her teammates around.

  
Blake headed to the history section to grab the textbook about the Faunus War. When she went to where the book would be, it was gone. That was a first. Rarely did anybody pick up books having anything to do with Faunus. Disappointed, she picked up a book about Vale’s ancient civilization instead and headed to her corner. It was a great place to sit; the table was sort of hiding behind a column, so it was almost like a hiding spot. At least she can have that spot to herself.

  
Her hopes were dashed as she noticed someone else sitting at the table. Blake sighed and looked around for an empty table to sit. She mentally begged to find a spot where nobody would bother her nor would she have to overhear anyone’s inane conversation.

  
"Hey Blake," said a nearby voice. "Are you looking for a place to sit?"  
Oh no thought Blake. Somebody who knew her was here. Blake turned around and prayed for it to be someone tolerable. Her prayers were fulfilled; it was Lie Ren. He was the quiet one on Team JNPR. He would definitely not bother Blake.  
"Hello Ren," said Blake. "Yes I am actually."  
"You can sit here if you like," said Ren. "I’m busy studying for an upcoming test."  
"Thanks," said Blake. Blake placed her book down and started reading it. As Ren said, he was solely focused on reading his book and didn’t say another word to Blake.

As Blake was reading, she began to think about how nice it was to actually get to sit down next to somebody without being bothered. Had she sat next to anyone else, they would likely try to start engaging in small talk. Ren kept to himself, reading whatever book he had. Blake looked up from her book to see what Ren was reading.

  
"So what are you reading?" asked Blake.  
"The Faunus War," said Ren.  
"Funny. I was going to read that when I got here."  
"Have a test coming up as well?"  
"No. I just like to know my history," said Blake before going back to reading, as did Ren.

Wait a minute thought Blake. What was she doing? Why did she care about what he’s reading or not? She came here to be by herself and not talk to anyone, and here she was talking to someone. Now he was going to start talking to her, she just knew it.

Blake spent just as much time looking down and reading her book as she did looking back up at Ren, waiting for him to start chatting. Ren never looked at Blake; he was simply reading his textbook and taking down notes. After some time passed by, Ren suddenly closed his textbook. Here it comes thought Blake. Now he’s going to want to chat.

"I’m done with this book," said Ren. "Would you like to have it?"  
"Huh? Oh, sure. Thanks," said Blake, taking the book off Ren’s hands. Ren then got up and left the library. Blake didn’t know how to feel. She wanted to be relieved that Ren left her alone as she wanted, and yet for some reason wasn’t happy that he did.  
There was no chance for her to enter her Zen like state with this big of a distraction, so she left the library as well. This is exactly why she sits by herself she thought.

#

The next day, same time, Blake headed to the library. She hoped that yesterday was just a fluke and she can go back to sitting in her favorite corner with her books and be at peace of mind. She went to the history section, got the book on The Faunus War, and headed to her spot. Along the way she noticed Ren sitting at his table, studying by himself just like yesterday. As she approached her corner, she stopped. For some reason Blake now had the urge to sit next to Ren instead. If she did that she wouldn’t be able to get into her Zen like state, and yet if she didn’t, all she would think about is sitting next to Ren. Her routine had officially been ruined.

She turned around and sat at the table Ren was sitting. Ren looked up and was surprised to see Blake.  
"Hello again," said Ren.  
"Hi Ren," said Blake. "What are you studying this time?"  
"Anatomies of Grimm," said Ren. "Catching up on your history?"  
"Yes," said Blake. Ren went right back to reading his book, not wanting to bother Blake. Blake knew he was trying to be polite, but this time she really wanted him to look up and talk.  
"So Ren," said Blake, "how often do you come here?"  
"I don’t know," said Ren. "Two or three times a week? Just to catch up on any studying I’ve missed. Yourself?"  
"Just about every day this place is open."  
"Really? What is it about this place?"  
"Because it’s the only place I know I can get some peace.”  
"Peace from what exactly?"  
"You know…from them."

Ren finally looked up from his book to look at Blake. Finally thought Blake.

"You don’t mean from your own team do you?" asked Ren.  
"I do," said Blake.  
"That’s pretty rude of you to say," said Ren.  
"Excuse me?" said Blake.  
"I can understand needing time for yourself once in a while, but every day? You shouldn’t be doing that to your team."  
"Doing what? Getting away from their constant bickering and nonsense? Coming here is the only thing keeping me from going crazy."  
"What’s going to drive you crazy is being part of a team you know nothing about."  
"I know plenty about my team."  
"Do you really? Tell me something about each of your team members."  
"Ruby is a 15-year-old who got moved up from Signal; Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee corporation; and Yang is Ruby’s older sister with a different last name."  
Ren didn’t say a word, like he was expecting Blake to say more, but she didn’t.  
"Is that it?" asked Ren.  
"What more is there to know?" replied Blake.  
"All right. Now let me talk about my team. Jaune is a huge fanboy of Jade Celadon; he has watched every single one of her movies. Pyrrha can speak three different languages fluently. Nora has a passion for sewing; she likes to make her own dolls and cosplay."  
"What does any of that have to do with anything?"  
"You know how I know all that? Because I sit down and talk to them. I hang out with them. I listen to what they have to say, even if some of it is just bickering and nonsense. I do that because they’re my team, and like it or not, I’m stuck with them for four years. But I find that when I get to know my teammates, it makes me want to be with them for my time here. Four years from now I want all of us to be the best of friends. Can you honestly say that about your team?"  
Blake didn’t reply. She didn’t know anything about her team outside of their personality, and aside from being a Faunus who used to work for the White Fang, her team didn’t know anything about her. She had turned herself into a stranger on her own team.  
"It’s time you stopped giving your team the silent treatment," said Ren. "One week from now I want you to meet me here and tell me what you know about your team."  
"Deal," said Blake.

#

Blake used to go the library as part of her daily routine to get away from her team. Then ever since her chat with Ren, she wondered why she ever thought that was a good idea. There were times when her team got on her nerves, but she failed to realize there were plenty of other times her team would brighten each other’s day, and these were the moments she would remember the most.

Blake headed to the library and immediately went to where Ren was sitting.

"So, have you been talking to your team?" asked Ren.  
"I have," said Blake. "Let’s see…oh, Ruby hates drinking soda because she thinks it’s too unhealthy. I mean I don’t like soda either, but coming from the girl who eats cookies every day? It’s just…anyway, Weiss took vocal lessons as a kid and knows how to sing. She’s pretty good actually. Yang has a fear of insects because she’s scared they might nest in her hair, and I told her if it bothered her so much why not get a haircut? She looks at me like I suggested to go screw herself. I mean even Weiss isn’t that obsessive about her hair, and she’s the self-proclaimed fashionista of the team."  
"Glad to see you’re getting to know your team better," said Ren.  
"So how about you?"  
"What about me?"  
"I know about my team and I know about most of your team, but the funny thing is, I don’t know much about you."  
"Oh. Well…I like cooking."  
"What kind of cooking?"  
"Just random stuff. I usually make pancakes for my team, and…you know what? We shouldn’t be talking about that here. We should be talking about it with them."  
"Of course," said Blake. The two of them left the library and went to hang out with their teammates; their annoying, funny, aggravating, incredibly wonderful loving teammates.


	4. The Secret Factor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes more than strength and knowledge to become a good huntsman; he learned that many years ago.  
> Pairing: Jaune & Ozpin  
> Relationship: Student & Teacher  
> Genre: Drama  
> Word Count: 2323

Jaune kept playing the events over and over in his head, and he still couldn’t believe he somehow made it out of the Emerald Forest alive. His team was tasked to kill a herd of Beowolves. His teammates had no problem fighting off multiple wolves, but Jaune was struggling just to fend off one. Then just when they had thought they succeeded, the mama wolf took them by surprise. Jaune had attempted to block the mama wolf’s huge claws, hoping his aura would kick in and protect him, but to no avail. The force was so strong it sent him flying into a tree. It would have finished him off if Pyrrha and the others weren’t there to help him. The team may have passed their test, but to Jaune he was still a failure. Even after all this time, he was still struggling to catch up with the others. He wondered why he was even still here.

His team was walking down the hallway, trying to convince him it was okay, but it wasn’t working.

"It’s okay Jaune," said Pyrrha. "That wolf was just much stronger than the others."  
"Plus we didn’t see it coming," said Ren. "It threw all of us off."  
"But you still pulled through anyway!" said Nora. "Because that’s what a good leader does!"  
"No," said Jaune. "A good leader would have killed the thing and not need to rely on his teammates to do all the work! I shouldn’t have been made leader."  
"Jaune, you need to stop thinking like that," said Pyrrha. "Ozpin made you leader for a reason."  
"Then Ozpin was wrong!" said Jaune. "I’m not as good as any of you in any way. I don’t know what he was thinking."  
"Then maybe you should go ask him yourself," said Pyrrha.  
"Are you kidding? What am I supposed to say? Go up to the headmaster and say ‘Hey Mr. Ozpin, not to call you stupid or anything, but don’t you think it was kind of dumb of you to make the worst member of the team the leader? I mean, what were you thinking?’"  
"I don’t think he’d like that attitude," said Nora, clearly not paying attention to the sarcasm in Jaune’s voice.  
"No I wouldn’t," said Ozpin, who had walked in on Jaune’s commentary. Jaune suddenly felt his body go completely numb and started to see his life flash before his eyes. "If there’s something you’d like to share Mr. Arc, I’ll be in my office waiting. You’re free to come in any time." With that, Ozpin left.  
"I don’t have a choice do I?" asked Jaune. The rest of this team shook their heads.

#

Jaune entered the administrative offices and knocked on the door that was sure to lead to his expulsion. Ozpin opened the door and smiled.

"I’m glad you came Mr. Arc," said Ozpin. "Please, have a seat.

Jaune entered Ozpin’s office and took a quick look around. Despite being the headmaster of the school, Ozpin’s office looked pretty basic. The walls had a few paintings of the school and past headmasters. On one wall was a shelf of the small chess statues Ozpin used as the initiation relics. Ozpin’s desk was normal sized, filled with typical office stuff like a stack of papers, some pictures, and a mug full of pens. Jaune and Ozpin took their seats on the opposite sides of Ozpin’s desk.

"You look stressed Mr. Arc," said Ozpin. "Is everything all right?"  
"Please Mr. Ozpin, I’m really sorry about what I said in the hallway," said Jaune.  
"Is that why you think I called you in here?" asked Ozpin. "I have pretty thick skin Mr. Arc, and believe me, I have been called far, far worse things than stupid. No, I called you in here because you don’t think you deserve to be the leader of your team. Why is that?"  
"Isn’t it obvious?" asked Jaune. "My skills are next to nothing compared to the others. If anything Pyrrha should have been made the leader. She’s better than nearly everyone in this school."  
"I see," said Ozpin.

Ozpin reached under his desk and pulled out a suitcase. Jaune started worrying about what was inside the case. Dismissal papers? Transfer papers? It couldn’t be anything good. Ozpin opened the suitcase and laid it out to reveal a chessboard with pieces. The quality of the board and pieces looked very high-end.

"Do you know how to play Chess?" asked Ozpin.  
"Yes?" said Jaune.  
"Good. Let’s play a game. I find that playing is a good way to relax your mind. You can be the white pieces."

Jaune and Ozpin took their pieces and put them into position. Jaune and Ozpin started playing as they continued their conversation.

"Do you know why I like the game Chess Mr. Arc?" asked Ozpin.  
"Because it’s what smart people play?" asked Jaune.  
"Anybody can play Chess Mr. Arc. It’s the smart ones who are simply good at it. I like Chess because it’s a game where every single move has meaning. You can’t just randomly take a piece and move it to wherever you want. You have to think about why you’re moving it there, and the consequences that can follow. Mr. Arc, I didn’t make you leader out of random chance, nor to spite you or your team by promoting the so-called worst member."  
"Then why did you make me leader?"  
"Let me ask you a question Mr. Arc. What exactly do you think it takes to become a good huntsman?"  
"Well, you’ve got to be strong. Strong enough to fight off whatever monster comes your way. You also have to be smart. Smart enough to come up with the strategies and battle plans to kill monsters. That’s what I believe anyway."  
"Well Mr. Arc, if that were all it took to be a huntsman, I would have kicked you out of this school faster than I’m about to end this game," said Ozpin, moving his last piece into position. "Checkmate."  
"You’re really good at this," said Jaune. "Should we play again?"  
"Before we play again, I want you to tell me something," said Ozpin. "Just how did you get your hands on fake transcripts anyway?"

Jaune could have sworn he felt something stab directly into his spine, causing him to feel shivers flow through all of his body. Ozpin somehow knew Jaune’s big secret.

"You mean…you knew I lied to get in?" asked Jaune.  
"Jaune Arc," said Ozpin, "I may have done many stupid things over the years, but I am not a stupid man. As headmaster of Beacon, I look over every single application that comes to my school. When I saw your supposed transcript, I was surprised. If there was a huntsman that good, I would have known about it. So I did a background check and sure enough, you faked it. You’ve never been to a training school in your life."  
"That’s true," moaned Jaune, thinking this was the end for him.  
"If anybody else were headmaster, your transcript would have gone straight to the shredder. But I held on to it. Do you know why?"  
"Because you felt sorry for me?"  
"Not even close. Your ‘transcript’ got me thinking. Why would somebody who has no business being a huntsman try to fake his way in, knowing that if he were to get caught, he would be expelled or worse at a moment’s notice?"  
"I just wanted to be like my father, and his father before him, and his father…I wanted to make my family-"  
"I get the picture Mr. Arc. Now, earlier you said you need strength and intelligence to be a good huntsman. But there’s one more factor you’re missing."  
"There’s another factor?"  
"You want to know the secret to becoming a good huntsman? Why I kept you and not the thousands of others who apply to this school without even being close to qualified like you?"  
"Yes Mr. Ozpin! I want to know this secret!"  
"The secret factor…is determination."

Jaune was excited to hear what he thought was the secret to instant success, only to be disappointed when it sounded like a bland inspirational statement.

"Determination?" said Jaune. "Are you serious?"  
"Let me take you back to a long time ago," explained Ozpin. "I wasn’t always the headmaster of this school you know. I like many others who came to this school was just another student. Based on my excellent track record from my previous schools, I was easily qualified to enter Beacon. When I first arrived here, I thought my strength and knowledge would be enough to become the best huntsman in this school. But I learned that my strength was nothing compared to the other first years at the time, and my knowledge wasn’t as vast as I thought it was."  
"What made you think that?"  
"When I nearly flunked my initiation."  
"Flunked?" asked a surprised Jaune. "How did you nearly flunk?"  
"Because I was wreckless," said Ozpin. "I was so confident I can take out any Grimm that was in my way, that the initiation would be a waste of time. I was arrogant, and I paid the price by nearly getting myself and my partner killed several times. Suddenly I was going from the boy who thought he was on top of the world, to the boy being tossed around like a rag doll by a Deathstalker."  
"I know what that’s like."  
"If my teammates weren’t there to bail me out, I would have been on the first flight out of Beacon. And yet, despite my screw-ups and not being the strongest nor the smartest amongst my team, I was made the leader. My partner at the time was furious they didn’t become leader. I myself was in doubt. I spoke to my headmaster at the time, asking me why he made me the leader when truth be told, any one of my teammates were more qualified than I was. Listen carefully Mr. Arc, because I’m about to tell you what he told me.

"He said to me ‘Ozpin, you’re not the strongest nor the smartest kid on your team. In fact, you’re probably one of the worst first year students I have right now. Yet when it comes to determination, you have more of that than anyone I’ve ever seen in this school. As long as you keep determined to improve your skills, I have no doubt you’ll end your time here as one of the best huntsman this school has ever seen.’ Even though I was out of my league in terms of skill, it was the fact that I wanted to prove I had what it took to become the best huntsman there ever was that the headmaster made me leader."  
"So is that why you made me leader?" asked Jaune. "Because you think I have determination?"  
"Well don’t you?" asked Ozpin. "You wanted to come to this school and become a huntsman without a single ounce of training in your life, and you continue to stick around because you want to prove that you deserve to be here. I would say you sound quite determined Mr. Arc."  
"But more times than not it’s my teammates that are convincing me to stay," said Jaune.  
"Because you’ve earned their trust Mr. Arc," said Ozpin, "and they’re just as determined to see you remain as leader as you are in wanting to stay here. Do not take their trust for granted Mr. Arc. Trust is what can take you from being a huntsman or to a headmaster."  
"Headmaster?" said Jaune.  
"It was about twenty years ago. I received a phone call that my headmaster had decided to step down and name me the new headmaster of Beacon. Me, the worst first year student he had when I joined. He also gave me his blessing to make any changes I wanted to this school. I asked him why would he do such a thing, and he said ‘Because you’re the best student this school has ever had, and I know that whatever you decide for this school will be for the better.’ I earned his trust to take over Beacon, all because I never gave up my determination.  
"Mr. Arc, while it’s true that you’ll need to improve your strength and intelligence to pass these next few years, know that as long as you are determined to do whatever it takes to be a great huntsman, eventually you will achieve that goal. Perhaps you might even become the next headmaster at Beacon."  
"Thank you sir," said Jaune.  
"You’re welcome. You may leave now,” said Ozpin.

Jaune got up and left Ozpin’s office, more confident and determined than ever. As soon as he left, Goodwitch stepped into Ozpin’s office.

"What was that about?" asked Goodwitch.  
"Just giving the boy some motivation," said Ozpin.  
"It’s going to take more than motivation for his grades to improve."  
"Give it time. One day we’re going to look back on Mr. Arc and be amazed at how far he’s come."  
"That’s so typical of you. Always trying to think optimistic about everything you do, all because our headmaster gave you that determination speech."  
"You’re still mad that I was leader and you weren’t, aren’t you partner?"  
"I was over that years ago. Besides, you were smart enough to hire me as the Vice Headmaster, so you can’t be that dumb."  
"Dumb you say? Why don’t we have a game of Chess and find out just how ‘dumb’ I am?"  
"I’m surprised you’ve kept this set. I thought you had gotten rid of it years ago."  
"I still keep it in case of emergencies like this. Now are we going to play or not?"  
"I can’t remember the last time you actually beat me in one of these games, if at all," said Goodwitch.  
"Then today just might be that day," said Ozpin.


	5. Dirty Tactics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was just meant to be a friendly sparring. Then things started to get a little out of hand.  
> Pairing: Pyrrha & Yang  
> Relationship: Rivals  
> Genre: Action / Smut*  
> Word Count: 1774  
> *Although the smut is more on the softcore side (i.e., this isn’t a lemon/sex story), this story is NSFW.

Yang was in the school gym practicing her strikes on the punching bag. Although the gym was open at all hours, hardly anyone used it past 10:00P.M., so it was the perfect time for Yang to practice by herself. The only other person Yang ever saw during these hours was Pyrrha, and the two quickly became gym buddies. As if right on cue, Pyrrha entered the gym just as Yang was finished with her workout.

"Done beating the crap out of that bag?" asked Pyrrha.  
"All yours," said Yang. "What’s up? Haven’t seen you here in some time."  
"I’ve been busy helping Jaune," said Pyrrha as she began striking the bag.  
"Is he finally starting to catch up?" asked Yang.  
"Not quite, but he’s getting there."  
"He’s not slowing down your training is he?"  
"That doesn’t matter. If I have to give up my training to make sure he gets better, than that’s what I’m going to do. Besides, I’m already pretty skilled as it is."  
"Is that so?" said Yang. "Why don’t we have a friendly sparring match and find out?"  
"You want to fight me?" asked Pyrrha.  
"Why not? A good spar between us could make up for your lost training."  
"All right, name your conditions."  
"Pure fisticuffs; no weapons and armor."  
"You’re on."

Pyrrha and Yang got into their gear and entered the gym’s boxing ring. Pyrrha switched to her basic gym attire of a t-shirt, short tights, and sneakers. Yang wore her typical outfit without the coat and replacing her boots with sneakers.

Yang and Pyrrha slowly circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Yang got closer and threw a couple of left jabs, which Pyrrha quickly dodged. Yang faked a left jab that Pyrrha tried to dodge, then Yang quickly used her left leg to kick Pyrrha in the stomach. As Pyrrha bent over, Yang grabbed Pyrrha in a headlock. As soon as she grabbed Pyrrha, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Yang’s left thigh and lifted Yang’s leg off the ground. Yang lost her footing and fell back, losing her grip on Pyrrha. Pyrrha immediately responded by getting on top of Yang and pressing her left forearm on Yang’s throat while restraining Yang’s left arm.

"If this were an actual fight, you’d have lost already," said Pyrrha.

Suddenly Yang grabbed Pyrrha by the back of her head, pulled Pyrrha in towards herself, and kissed Pyrrha on the lips. As soon as Yang pecked Pyrrha’s lips, Pyrrha suddenly got off of Yang and backed away.

"Yang!" yelled Pyrrha. "The hell was that?"  
"A perfect escape!" said Yang.  
"Stop joking around!" said Pyrrha.  
"It’s a legitimate strategy," said Yang.

The two circled each other again, waiting for the right moment to strike. Getting tired of just circling and waiting, Yang went in and started throwing punches at Pyrrha. Pyrrha easily dodged or blocked Yang’s punches. Yang threw a straight right at Pyrrha. Pyrrha ducked the punch and then wrapped her arms around Yang’s neck and underneath her right arm. Pyrrha fell back taking Yang with her, then quickly lifted her legs and wrapped them around Yang’s neck to place her in a triangle choke. Yang tried to power out of the move but Pyrrha’s grip was too strong. Just as Pyrrha thought Yang would tap out to signal wanting to be let go, Yang used her free arm to grab Pyrrha’s shirt by the collar and started pulling as hard as she could, beginning to tear it apart. Realizing what Yang was up to, Pyrrha let go of Yang and knocked her arm away. Pyrrha stood back up and covered her chest, nearly exposed through the ripped shirt thanks to Yang’s handiwork.

"What are you doing?" yelled a flustered Pyrrha. "Are you trying to molest me or something?"  
"It’s called winning by any means necessary!" said Yang.  
"Sounds more like dirty tactics to me!"  
"There’s no such thing as dirty tactics in a real fight. The only thing that matters is who comes out on top."  
"I see. If that’s the way it’s going to be…."

Pyrrha suddenly grabbed her shirt and took it off herself, allowing her breasts to be seen in full view. Yang was suddenly confused as to what Pyrrha was doing.

"What’s wrong?" said Pyrrha. "I thought you wanted to see me without my shirt on."  
"You just yelled at me five seconds ago about trying to rip off your clothes," said Yang, "and now you’re just taking them off willingly?"  
"In the times of ancient Mistral, warriors would battle in the nude," said Pyrrha. "So the way I see it, I’m just fighting ancient Mistral style. Try not to be too distracted."

Yang thought it would be easier to fight Pyrrha by ripping her clothes off, but the strategy backfired when Pyrrha showed she wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest, going after Yang with strikes of her own. Pyrrha went to kick Yang in the side of ribs but Yang grabbed her leg and held on to it. Before Yang can make another move, Pyrrha suddenly jumped with her other leg and kicked Yang in the side of the head. The force of the kick caused Yang to let go and stagger for a few moments, which was all the time Pyrrha needed to get behind Yang and suddenly apply a rear naked choke, taking Yang to the mat once again. Deciding to give Yang a taste of her own medicine, Pyrrha grabbed the top of Yang’s shirt and pulled it down, causing Yang’s breasts to slip out. Now it was Yang who was getting furious at being exposed.

"You’re pretty big for a 17-year-old," said Pyrrha. "Be honest with me; are those things real?"  
"You’re just jealous they look better than yours!" yelled Yang. Pyrrha used her arm to cop a feel, further enraging Yang.  
"They feel pretty real. Whoever did them did a really good job."  
"They’re not fake you bitch!"

Yang’s semblance suddenly kicked in. Yang used her new strength to roll over while Pyrrha still tried to hang on with her choke hold. Yang slowly got up to her feet, grabbed Pyrrha from the back of her head, and tossed Pyrrha over her shoulder, slamming her hard on the mat. As Pyrrha tried to get up, Yang put Pyrrha in a standing full nelson. With Yang using all her strength and having the height advantage, it was impossible for Pyrrha to break free. With no way to break out physically, Pyrrha thought of another idea. Calming herself down, Pyrrha concentrated and activated her semblance. Pyrrha focused on the belt buckle around Yang’s pants. Controlling the bit of metal around the belt, Pyrrha undid Yang’s belt and caused her pants to drop, exposing Yang’s underwear. Yang freaked out and let go of Pyrrha to pick her pants back up.

"Really Pyrrha?" asked Yang. "That’s how low you’re willing to go?"  
"Me?" asked Pyrrha. "You’re the one who started ripping my clothes off and talked about using any means necessary. I just wanted a sparring match until you turned it into a freaking strip fight!"  
"I thought Mistral warriors didn’t mind fighting in the nude!"  
"There’s a difference between fighting in the nude and acting like a pervert!"  
"So I’m a pervert now huh? Then maybe I’ll try getting in your pants!"

Yang charged head on into Pyrrha, attempting to tackle her and remove her tights. Pyrrha grabbed her in a headlock and dropped down, smothering Yang’s face on the mat. As Yang flailed her arms and tried to pull her head out of Pyrrha’s arm to break free, Pyrrha grabbed the back of Yang’s shirt and yanked it over Yang’s head. Pyrrha let go of her hold so she can take off the shirt completely, causing Yang’s chest to be exposed like Pyrrha’s. The two of them stood back up and grabbed each other’s hands, both of them trying to overpower the other. The two of them kept pushing to no avail. Sensing they were too evenly matched, Yang lifted her head up and knocked foreheads with Pyrrha, causing both of them to let go. Pyrrha held her head in pain while Yang gutted it out, got behind Pyrrha, and dragged themselves to the mat. With Pyrrha on top of her, Yang wrapped her legs around Pyrrha’s waist, grabbed Pyrrha’s right arm with her left arm and wrapped it around her own neck. Pyrrha struggled to escape Yang’s hold but couldn’t get out no matter what she did. As Pyrrha continued to struggle, Yang held up two fingers close to Pyrrha and was making the come over here gesture, causing Pyrrha’s face to turn bright red.

"You wouldn’t dare!" yelled Pyrrha.  
"Watch me!" said Yang. Yang pressed her hand against Pyrrha’s stomach, and was slowly sliding it down her body. With no way to escape from Yang’s grasp, Pyrrha held out her free arm and used her semblance. Out of her bag came Miló, flying into her hand. Just as Yang was about to slide into Pyrrha’s shorts, Pyrrha held Miló next to Yang’s head, causing Yang to stop just as her fingertips reached the tip of Pyrrha’s shorts.  
"You move that hand down any closer and I will cut you bold!" said Pyrrha.  
"Don’t you lay a damn finger on my hair!" yelled Yang, tightening her grip on Pyrrha’s arm around her neck.  
"Then I suggest you let me go before I turn your weave into a wig!" threatened Pyrrha.

After thinking about it for about half a minute, Yang decided that penetrating Pyrrha was not worth getting a hair cut over. It was time to call off this fight.

"Fine, I give up!" said Yang, holding her arms up and letting go of her leg hold. Pyrrha immediately got up and got out of the ring to hit the showers. Yang got up and showered as well. The two of them didn’t say a word to each other until they went back to their lockers and got changed.  
"I uh…I’m sorry for what I did back there," said Yang. "No hard feelings?"  
"None taken," said Pyrrha. "As embarrassing and ridiculous as that was, you put up a really good fight. I’ve never fought an opponent that tough or that…resourceful before."  
As they were about to leave, Yang suddenly got behind Pyrrha and grabbed her breasts.  
"I’m always up for a rematch if you are," said Yang. Pyrrha grabbed one of Yang’s arms and put Yang in a hammerlock, then used her free arm to grab one of Yang’s breasts.  
"Any time," replied Pyrrha.


	6. The Witch's Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She has no team, no friends, and is constantly the target of bullying. It’s time she learned to stand up for herself.  
> Pairing: Velvet & Goodwitch  
> Relationship: Apprentice & Mentor  
> Genre: Drama  
> Word Count: 1704

Glynda Goodwitch was the kind of teacher who believed that students needed to stand up for themselves and not have to rely on their professors to bail them out of situations. If they needed bailing out now, what good did they stood as huntsmen or huntresses? Such was the case of Velvet Scarlatina. Judging by her grades, Goodwitch knew Velvet was a talented huntress, yet when it came to standing up for herself, she was terrible. Goodwitch knew of the bullying that Velvet had been going through for being a Faunus, but to Goodwitch, Velvet was allowing herself to get bullied. Goodwitch didn't know whether it was because Velvet was being too nice or had lost all motivation ever since the rest of her team had flunked out of Beacon after midterms.

That was why Goodwitch had wanted to see Velvet privately in her office.

"You wanted to see me Ms. Goodwitch?" asked Velvet.  
"Miss Scarlatina,” said Goodwitch, “according to our records, you’re one of the better first year students we have. Yet despite knowing how to fight, I've noticed you’re being bullied by several students, especially Cardin Winchester."  
Velvet tilted her head down and looked away from Goodwitch. It was a subject Velvet was not comfortable talking about.  
"I would think a student of your caliber would know how to defend yourself from such bullying," said Goodwitch, "yet every time I catch it happening, you simply take the abuse. Why is that?"  
"I don’t like fighting other students," said Velvet.  
"I can understand not wanting to start trouble Miss Scarlatina, but at some point you’ll need to stand up and fight back. Tell me Miss Scarlatina; how does it feel to be a solo student at Beacon?"  
"It’s terrible. I thought I would be relieved when my team left because even they couldn't stand being with a Faunus, and yet I still feel just as miserable."  
"Why is that?"  
"Because now I’m just…alone."  
"So if I were to put you on a new team, would that make you feel better?"  
"But who would want to be on a team with me? Besides, they’ll just bully me like everyone else."  
"Then how do you suppose we fix this situation?"

Velvet looked down on the floor trying to come up with an answer, but Goodwitch knew Velvet wouldn’t actually come up with one. It was time for Goodwitch to initiate her idea.

"Miss Scarlatina," said Goodwitch, "how would you like to be my apprentice?"  
"Your apprentice?" asked Velvet.  
"I’ll teach you some personal techniques that I don’t share with other students."  
"How long would this be for?"  
"For as long as I think you need it. Miss Scarlatina, you are a talented huntress who is letting these personal problems get the best of you. I will train you until I’m certain you can overcome these problems on your own. Do we have a deal?"  
"I-I guess-"  
"You guess? It’s a simple yes or no question Miss Scarlatina. Do you want to be my apprentice or not?"  
"Yes!" quickly said Velvet.  
"Good," said Goodwitch. "Your training begins tomorrow. Meet me in the academy gardens at 5:00 A.M."

Velvet wanted to protest the absurd time she needed to be there, but didn’t want to get Goodwitch mad at her. She went to sleep extra early that night to make sure she’d wake up on time.

#

Despite going to sleep early, Velvet still felt too tired to be up at this hour. She arrived at the Academy Gardens where Goodwitch was waiting, not looking exhausted in the slightest.

"Good morning Miss Scarlatina," greeted Goodwitch. "I’m glad to see you committed to this training so far."  
"Thank you Miss Goodwitch," said Velvet.  
"Let’s begin with your first lesson," said Goodwitch. To Velvet’s surprise, Goodwitch grabbed one of Velvet’s rabbit ears.  
"Miss Goodwitch!" yelled Velvet.  
"This feels familiar, doesn’t it Miss Scarlatina? Bullies pulling on your Faunus ears. The first lesson I’m going to teach you is how to escape this predicament." Miss Goodwitch let go of Velvet’s ear and held up her index and middle fingers. "Concentrate your aura to the tips of your index and middle fingers. Then when the time is right, thrust your fingers straight to their throats. The force of the blow should be enough to knock them out."  
"It wouldn’t kill them, would it?"  
"Miss Scarlatina!" yelled Goodwitch, frightening Velvet. "If you’re going to be afraid to hurt other people you’re never going to be able to stand up for yourself! Now concentrate your aura and use the technique on me."

Not wanting to make Goodwitch angrier, Velvet concentrated her aura into her fingers, then tried to use the technique on Goodwitch. Velvet’s thrust was so weak that Goodwitch didn’t feel a thing. Goodwitch sighed.

"You’ve got a lot to learn Miss Scarlatina," said Goodwitch. "You need better control of your aura."  
Goodwitch decided to move to her next lesson. Goodwitch placed a pile of rocks in front of Velvet. Goodwitch focused her aura and use it to lift the rocks.  
"I want you to focus your aura and use it to lift at least one of the rocks," said Goodwitch.  
No problem thought Velvet. As long as she didn’t need to use it to hurt other people, Velvet could do this task easily. As Velvet was concentrating, she was suddenly hit from behind by Goodwitch’s crop.  
"Ow!" yelled Velvet, losing her concentration instantly.  
"Your biggest flaw Miss Scarlatina is that you’re too sensitive," said Goodwitch. "You’re going to need to develop thicker skin and fast."  
"O-okay," stuttered Velvet. Goodwitch hit her again, causing Velvet to yell in pain again.  
"I didn’t hear you," said Goodwitch.  
"Okay!" yelled Velvet.

Velvet kept trying to concentrate on her aura, but every time she got close to controlling it, Goodwitch would hit her from behind and she’d lose it. This went on for about half an hour, at which point Goodwitch realized Velvet was never going to complete this task for now.

"This training is going to take longer than I thought," said Goodwitch. "I’m very disappointed in you Miss Scarlatina. We’re done for today."  
"I’m sorry Miss Goodwitch," said Velvet. That comment caused Goodwitch to raise her crop to strike Velvet, who flinched at Goodwitch about to hit her. Goodwitch shook her head and left.

The next few days didn’t get any better. Velvet was always too scared to fight back and too sensitive to Goodwitch’s abuse. Goodwitch was starting to think that Velvet only agreed to this apprenticeship because she was afraid of saying no. By the fourth day of training, Goodwitch was losing her patience with Velvet.

"Miss Scarlatina," said Goodwitch. "I have been training you for the past four days, and you have done absolutely nothing but spin your wheels."  
"I-I’m trying Miss Goodwitch!" said Velvet.  
"Then you’re not trying hard enough! Miss Scarlatina, explain to me why you enrolled into Beacon."  
"To become a huntress?"  
"And what good is a huntress who can’t fight back or stand up for herself?"  
"I can fight Miss Goodwitch! I really can!"  
"Can you now?" asked Goodwitch. Before Velvet can reply, Goodwitch grabbed Velvet’s ear and gripped harder than usual. Velvet closed her eyes hard and tried not to make a sound from the pain Goodwitch was putting her in.  
"Maybe I was wrong about you Miss Scarlatina. I thought you were one of our best students when you passed everything with flying colors. But deep down you’re just a coward."

Goodwitch expected Velvet to start crying or getting upset, but instead something different happened. Velvet began to concentrate her aura into her two fingers; much quicker than usual.

"I’m surprised you stayed on for this long. You should have quit a long time ago. You don’t have it takes to be a huntress!"  
"I do…," whispered Velvet.  
"What was that?"  
"I said I do!" yelled Velvet before suddenly lifting her arm and making a beeline to Goodwitch’s throat. Goodwitch grabbed Velvet’s wrist just before she made contact and smiled.  
"That’s what I want to see," said Goodwitch.

With Velvet finally showing signs of motivation, she quickly improved in her training under Goodwitch. She was able to concentrate her aura at a much quicker rate, and started addressing Goodwitch with more confidence. Goodwitch would still try to insult her every now and then, but Velvet simply took it as more encouragement to get better, which she did. Goodwitch continued to increase the difficulty of the training, from fighting creatures of Grimm to having duels with Goodwitch herself. Velvet would never win in one of these duels, but got progressively better in her fighting style.

More importantly to Goodwitch though, Velvet was starting to stand up for herself.

#

Velvet was in the cafeteria eating by herself when Team CRDL approached her and began insulting her. Velvet calmly took a sip of water and cleared her throat.

"I’d like to know something Cardin," said Velvet. "What exactly are you compensating for?"  
"What did you say?" said Cardin.  
"Is it a lack of intelligence?" asked Velvet. "Fighting skills? Or is it something a bit more…personal?"  
"You’ve got a big mouth there freak!" said Cardin, grabbing one of Velvet’s ears. This would usually be the point where Velvet would start begging to be let go, but this time Velvet had a different idea. She began concentrating her aura into the two main fingers of her right hand.  
"I would let go if I were you," said Velvet.  
"Oh yeah?" said Cardin, pulling on Velvet’s even harder. "What’s going to happen if I don’t you freak?"  
As all of Team CRDL laughed, Velvet thrust her two fingers into Cardin’s throat, nailing him in the Adam’s apple. Cardin suddenly let go of Velvet’s ear and collapsed to the ground like he had the wind knocked out of him.  
"Anyone else like to pet my ears?" asked Velvet. The rest of Team CRDL quickly backed away, picking up Cardin and walking off. As Velvet went back to eating her lunch, she overheard Teams RWBY and JNPR sitting behind her and acting surprised, wondering how she was able to do that. Velvet smiled to herself; her apprenticeship was paying off.


	7. Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All it takes is a little bit of friendship. Even the tiniest of sparks can brighten someone’s day.  
> Pairing: Velvet & Yang  
> Relationship: Friendship  
> Genre: Hurt-Comfort / Angst*  
> Word Count: 3917 (!)  
> *This story involves one character contemplating suicide. If the subject of suicide bothers you, you might not want to read this.

Velvet laid on the floor of her barren room, staring at the ceiling for hours. She had been contemplating this decision for a while now, but couldn’t think of how or when to do it. Most of the methods she can think of would either take too long or be too painful; she wanted something that was instantaneous and with nobody around to interfere. Tonight she finally came to her decision. She got up, turned on the lamp by her desk, and pulled out a pen and paper. Thankfully it didn’t take long to come up with the words to write down. Part one of the plan was now complete.

The next day would begin part two of the plan. At the end of the day she planned to go to her locker, pack up her weapons and armor, and toss them into the first dumpster she could find. It wasn’t like she was going to need them anymore, and no one would want to use weapons wielded by some Faunus. Also part of the plan was to continue attending classes, just so nobody would get suspicious. She wouldn’t pay attention in any of the classes; there wasn’t a point to.

As she was walking down the hallway, she overheard all the students talking about the big end of term party tonight. Nearly all of Beacon was going to attend. Velvet wouldn’t; she would be busy initiating the final part of her plan, which was to take place at the stroke of midnight. Along the way she was suddenly surrounded by Team CRDL, the biggest influence in her decision. They taunted her with their typical insults and of course, began pulling on Velvet’s rabbit ears. Usually Velvet would start crying and begging to be let go, but there wasn’t a point to doing it today. Besides, doing so just made them do it more. Velvet kept her emotions bottled up and just waited for it to stop.

Yang was on her way to class when she noticed Team CRDL picking on Velvet while everyone else was simply walking by and ignoring what was happening. Since nobody else seemed to want to help, Yang decided to step in. Yang walked up to Cardin and punched him right in the face, causing Cardin to let go of Velvet.

"Don’t you know it’s not nice to be pulling on someone’s head like that?" asked Yang. "Now apologize!"  
"Fuck you!" replied Cardin, getting up and trying to punch Yang. In response, Yang grabbed Cardin by the balls, stopping him in his tracks.  
"I’m sorry, I didn’t get that," said Yang. "What did you say?"  
"I’m sorry!" squealed Cardin. Yang wasn’t sure he meant it, but decided to let go anyway. Apparently Yang squeezed a bit too hard, because Cardin fell right to the ground like his legs stopped working. The rest of his team picked him up and walked off. With Team CRDL gone, Yang turned to Velvet, but noticed she was already walking off.  
As much as she liked Yang helping get rid of CRDL, Velvet really wanted to avoid contact with any more people lest they try to convince her to change her mind. She tried to leave before Yang could say anything, but it was too late. Yang ran up to her and started talking.  
"Are you all right?" asked Yang.  
"I’m fine," said Velvet.  
"I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Yang."  
"Velvet. Well, thanks for your help, but I’ve got to get going."  
"It was nice meeting you," said Yang. Velvet didn’t reply as she walked faster away from Yang. Yang wondered why Velvet acted like she wanted to get away from her.

#

Velvet arrived at her final class early and sat in the back where nobody would notice her. All she had to do now was sit through this one class and then she can make her final preparations. Everything was going according to plan.

Or it did until she showed up.  
"Hey there. Long time no see," joked Yang, taking a seat next to Velvet. Turns out Yang and Velvet shared the same last class for the day. It usually wouldn’t be a problem until Velvet made the mistake of introducing herself to Yang a few minutes ago in the hallway. It figures; Velvet began to regret coming up with such an elaborate plan. She should have known with her luck that it was somehow going to fall apart. She should have just executed it last night when nobody would have cared.  
"Hello," whimpered Velvet.  
"Call me crazy, but I’m getting this feeling you don’t like me for some reason," said Yang.  
"What makes you say that?"  
"After I helped you with Cardin you tried running off. Was it something I did?"  
"N-no…."  
Yang noticed Velvet’s eyes dart around when she said no. Yang could tell Velvet was lying, but figured it was because Velvet must have trouble socializing with other people. Yang placed her hand on Velvet’s shoulder.  
"Look," said Yang, "I’m not sure if it’s because you have trust issues or are just shy, but I don’t want you to act all nervous around me. I’m trying to be your friend here, so just calm down and relax, okay?"  
As much as Velvet hated having to talk to Yang, she felt somewhat comforted by Yang trying to be nice.  
"Okay," said Velvet.  
"Great! In other news, how about that party going on tonight?" asked Yang.  
"I’m not interested," said Velvet.  
"Not interested? This is going to be our one night to just kick back and have fun. How could you not be interested in that?"

Velvet didn’t want to respond. The last thing she wanted to do was be surrounded by people.

"I get it," said Yang. "You’re afraid of running into more people like Cardin aren’t you?"  
"Kind of," said Velvet.  
"Say, how about you come to the party with me? If anybody even tries to remotely bother you, I’ll break them like I broke Cardin’s future children."  
"Thanks, but…I don’t really like parties."  
"Jeez Velv, work with me here. I’m trying to be your friend and you act like you want to be alone for the rest of your life."  
That was the plan thought Velvet.  
"Come with me to the party. I promise you’re going to have a good time."  
"Okay, I’ll come," said Velvet.

Yang was happy that Velvet agreed, but Velvet was upset. She had promised to attend the party even though it would ruin her plan. If she suddenly changed her mind Yang would get too suspicious. Why of all times did Yang suddenly decide to be nice to her? Nothing ever went the way Velvet wanted them to. Having no other choice, Velvet decided she would attend the party. At least this way she can experience some bit of happiness before the day ended.

#

With a few minutes before the party starting, Velvet was in her room getting ready. She felt like a wreck, worrying about how things would go down at the party. Yang promised she’d be fine, but what if she wasn’t? What if going to the party would just make things worse for her? Velvet was so anxious she could feel her stomach almost turn on her. She went to the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet, going through the various medications she had.

Then another idea hit her. She began to look at all the medications more carefully. It was all normal over the counter medicine that weren’t lethal when taken the right way. Looking over the bottles, she wondered how long it would take for the medications to kick in and do their job. With her initial plan already in jeopardy, maybe this method would just be easier. She opened the bottle of aspirin, poured all the pills into her hand, and thought about what to do.

#

Yang arrived at Velvet’s door and checked her watch. It was a few minutes past 8:00P.M. Yang usually didn’t go to parties when they were just starting, but decided the more time Velvet got out and talked to people the better. Yang knocked on Velvet’s door.

"Hey Velvet, you ready to go?" said Yang.  
Velvet quickly answered the door.  
"Hey Yang," said Velvet. "I’ll be ready in just a second, okay?"  
"All right," said Yang. About a minute later Velvet came back out and tried to smile.  
"I’m ready," said Velvet.  
"You’re smiling," said Yang, smiling back. "You know, doing that more often can actually make you happier."  
"Really?"  
"Works for me. Let’s go."

They arrived at the main hall for the party, which was relatively empty for now. Yang introduced Velvet to the rest of Team RWBY and chatted with them for a bit. Velvet was surprised to learn that Blake was a Faunus too; she hid those ears so well. If only Velvet could hide hers so easily, then maybe she wouldn’t be…no, thought Velvet. If Yang was going to make an effort to show her a good time, she was going to make an effort to not think of…that again; at least for tonight.  
The place soon became jam packed with students from all years. Velvet wasn’t comfortable with talking to any of them, instead just chatting with teams RWBY and JNPR for most of the night. Despite everyone being nice, Velvet was always on the lookout for CRDL and other people who would ridicule her. She was worried someone was going to pull a prank on her at any moment; in fact, she was expecting it.

A lot of people were dancing, something Velvet didn’t want to be a part of.

"C’mon Velvet," said Yang, "get out there and dance!"  
"No thanks. I’m…not really comfortable with dancing," said Velvet.  
"It’ll be fun! Trust me!"  
"Do I have to?"  
"Well you don’t have to, but you should! I mean, you’re not going to stand here and just talk to people are you?"  
"I’m sorry, but…."  
Noticing Velvet sounding upset, Yang realized she shouldn’t be pressuring Velvet.  
"No, I should be sorry," said Yang. "If you don’t really want to dance, you don’t have to. Are you at least having a good time?"  
"Yeah," said Velvet.  
"Then that’s all that matters," said Yang, before getting back to dancing. Soon Velvet was approached by Weiss.  
"Good move Velvet," said Weiss. "This ‘dancing’ is nothing more than dumb kids flailing their arms about."  
"It does look kind of fun," said Velvet.  
"If you have bad taste in music and no sense of dignity," said Weiss. "So Velvet, when did you and Yang become friends?"  
"Today, actually," said Velvet. "Yang helped me with some bullies picking on me."  
"Let me guess, Team CRDL?"  
"How did you know?"  
"Those Neanderthals pick on everybody; and people think I’m a jerk. At least I don’t go around making others feel miserable about themselves. How those slackers got into this school baffles me."  
"Well, this is a school for training huntsmen."  
"Please! Did you hear about the time they wussed out against an Ursa? They needed to be saved by Jaune of all people, and he fights like a fish out of water! I swear the standards in this school are too low!"  
Velvet started to snicker at what Weiss was saying.  
"Something funny?" asked Weiss.  
"Cardin really couldn’t fight off an Ursa?" asked Velvet. "That just seems so…."

Velvet couldn’t believe what happened next: She began to laugh. Velvet couldn’t remember the last time she ever did that.  
The time was about 11:15P.M. The hours seemed to have gone by in a flash. The loud music was finally getting to Velvet; her head felt like it was going to split open. Velvet got up and went to talk to Yang, who was in the middle of dancing.

"Finally decided to cut loose?" asked Yang.  
"I need to tell you something," said Velvet.  
"Is something wrong?" asked Yang.  
"I’m starting to get a bad headache," said Velvet. "I’m going to go to my room and get some medicine."  
"But you’ll be coming back right?" asked Yang.  
"Yeah, of course," said Velvet. "Oh, Yang?"  
"What?"  
"Thank you. You’re…you’re a good friend," said Velvet before leaving.

#

Yang was having such a good time that she lost track of time and noticed Velvet hadn’t come back. Yang checked her watch; the time read 11:45P.M. Velvet had been gone for nearly half an hour. Yang was starting to worry where Velvet went. Walking from here to the dorm rooms shouldn’t have taken any longer than ten minutes.

"Hey guys, I’m going to go check on Velvet," said Yang to her team before dashing off. Yang dashed to the dorm rooms as quickly as she could. About five minutes later she reached Velvet’s room. She knocked on the door to see if anyone was inside. She turned the handle, but the door was locked. She kept knocking.  
"Velvet!" yelled Yang. "If you’re in there, open the door!" There was no response. "Velvet, answer the door or I’m knocking it down!"

Still not getting a response, Yang slammed into the door and broke it open. She turned on the lights to Velvet’s room. The only things in the room were Velvet’s bed and a box on top of her desk. Yang was starting to worry. She looked around and noticed the bathroom door was closed. She went to the door and turned the knob; the door was unlocked. Yang went inside and looked around. She noticed the waste basket containing several empty bottles, and the shower curtain closed. Yang panicked and opened the shower curtain, but no Velvet. Yang was getting scared.

Yang noticed the box on Velvet’s desk and opened it. It contained her weapons and armor.

"Why is she packing up her stuff like this?" thought Yang aloud. Yang picked up the box and emptied it to see if anything else was inside, but nothing. She turned back to the desk and noticed an envelope that was hiding under the box. Yang picked up the envelope and noticed the writing on the front containing yesterday’s date. Inside the envelope was a letter. Yang tore up the envelope and read the letter inside.

"To whoever finds this note,  
It’s over for me. Tomorrow night I’m going to do it. I’ve chickened out for too long. I can’t take this pain anymore. I have no team. No friends. My suffering in this school is never-ending. I can’t take another three years of this. I have no reason to go on. While everyone will be having fun at the party, I’ll have jumped off the roof of the head building at midnight. The drop will be large enough to give me a quick and painless death.  
Farewell Beacon.”

Immediately after reading the note, Yang checked her watch. It was about three minutes to midnight. Yang sprinted out of the room and ran down the hallways like her life depended on it, or in this case, Velvet’s. Yang couldn’t believe this was happening, but at the same time it made sense. All this time Velvet had been showing the signs, but Yang thought she was just depressed from having a bad day.

Yang entered the staircase of the main building and jumped the stairs as quick as she could. The roof was several floors from where Yang was. If she paused for even one second, it could be too late.

After climbing for what seemed like an eternity, Velvet finally made it to the door of the roof. Yang broke down the door and called for Velvet. “Velvet! Are you up here?” yelled Yang. “Velvet!”  
No response. Yang checked her watch. It read 12:01A.M.  
"No," said Yang. "Please let my watch be working fast!" Yang went to the edge of the roof and looked over. It was so dark and hard to see that she couldn’t tell if Velvet was down there or not. Yang called for Velvet over and over again, hoping that maybe she was just hiding somewhere.

Still no response.

Yang felt like she was going to throw up, a mix of being over exhausted from the running and the sickening feeling of what was now happening. Yang was hoping that she was actually dreaming; that she fell asleep after a night of wild partying and didn’t realize it. Yang couldn’t comprehend it; she refused to. Less than an hour ago she was having a great time with her team and her new friend. She left saying thank you and smiling. Now Velvet was….

Suddenly her scroll started beeping, indicating she got a message. She took out her scroll and noticed it was a voice message from Velvet. Yang was horrified to think about what the message was going to be, but started playing it.

"Hey Yang, it’s Velvet. I’m back at the party and apparently you left to find me. I’m sorry for taking so long. If you’re in my room, just wait for me there, okay?"  
Yang didn’t know whether to feel relieved Velvet was okay, or contempt for what she tried to pull. Yang immediately ran back to Velvet’s room.

#

Velvet arrived at her room. Standing in the middle of the room was Yang, who looked like she was worried about something.

"Where were you?" asked Yang. "Where did you go?"  
"I came back to my room for aspirin, and I forgot I had run out," said Velvet. "So I went to the school general store to see if they were still open and they were closed. So I came back to the party. Your friends said you left to check on me and I guess we passed each other. I’m sorry to have worried you."  
"Is that all you were doing?" asked Yang.  
"Yes," said Velvet. "Why would you think I was doing anything else?"

Yang reached into her pocket and pulled out the note. Velvet was so occupied with the party that she had completely forgotten about the note.

"When I didn’t find you here, I found this. I ran like a bat out of hell to the roof and freaked out thinking you had actually done it. Now I realize why you were constantly avoiding me and not wanting to go to that party. You didn’t want anybody to find out you were planning to commit suicide. Is this true?"

Velvet tried to say something, but couldn’t. It was like her throat had closed up and her lungs forgot how to breathe. All she could do was grip her fists and start crying. Yang put down the note and held her arms out.

"If you’re wondering if I’m mad at you, I’m not. I’m just really worried. Velvet, if there’s anything, and I mean anything you want to tell me, I’m listening."  
Right away Velvet ran right into Yang’s arms, wrapped her arms around Yang, and started crying into Yang’s shoulder.  
"You’re right!" cried Velvet. "I was trying to commit suicide. I couldn’t take it anymore! The name calling, the abuse, the loneliness…I wanted to end it. For weeks I’ve been thinking about killing myself. Last night I decided tonight would be the night, when everybody would be too busy to notice where I would be. But then you had to go and mess everything up! You…you actually reached out to me. You tried to become my friend. Then you actually showed me a good time. You ruined everything I had planned. You…."  
Yang patted Velvet on the back to let her know it was okay.  
"Did you take any of those pills I found in the garbage?" asked Yang.  
"I thought about it," said Velvet. "I was so close to doing it until you knocked on my door. That’s when I knew I couldn’t go out that way, so I tossed them all away. I decided I was going to give this party a chance. One last time looking for that spark of hope that maybe…maybe I shouldn’t…"  
"I understand," said Yang.  
"I’m sorry Yang!" said Velvet. "I’m sorry I-"  
"It’s okay Velvet," said Yang. "You don’t need to say another word."  
Velvet continued crying onto Yang for another few minutes. Yang held on to Velvet and didn’t let go. She wasn’t going to let go until Velvet was ready to let go.  
"Yang?" said Velvet.  
"What is it?" asked Yang.  
"I want to go to sleep now."  
"Of course."  
Velvet went to her drawers, got her sleepwear, and changed in the bathroom. She came out and went straight to bed, quickly falling asleep.

#

Velvet woke up from the light piercing through the window. The moment she got up, Velvet wanted to get her scroll and call Yang. To her surprise she didn’t need to; she turned and saw Yang was sleeping on the floor, still in her clothes from last night.

"Yang?" said Velvet. "What are you doing here?"  
Yang woke up and turned to Velvet.  
"Making sure you’re okay," said Yang.  
"I’m fine," said Velvet.  
"You sure about that?" asked Yang. Considering what Velvet had gone through yesterday and the guilt she had felt for what she put Yang through, Yang was right again.  
"No, I guess not," said Velvet. "Yang, why do you care so much about what happens to me?"  
"That’s what friends are supposed to do dummy," said Yang, getting up and sitting next to Velvet. "They’re supposed to be there when you feel like you have no one else to turn to; when you feel like the world is against you."  
"You mean after everything I did…you’d still want to be my friend?"  
"Let me show how much of a friend I am," said Yang. Yang went to Velvet’s desk and pulled out a pair of scissors. "You see my hair? Under no circumstances would I ever cut my own hair. Even having the tiniest strand taken off is enough for me to go berserk."

Yang grabbed a handful of her hair near the very end and cut it with the pair of scissors. She then took the purple bandana wrapped around her leg and tied the hair into a lock.

"I want you to have this," said Yang.  
"You…want me to have your hair?" asked Velvet.  
"This is how much I care about you Velvet," said Yang. "I want you to hold on to it as a reminder. The next time you ever think about doing the unthinkable, know you’ve got at least one friend who cares about you."  
Velvet took the locket and started to cry, but this time it was from joy. As bizarre of a gift it was, Velvet never had anyone give her such a heartfelt present.  
"Yang…thank you," said Velvet. "Thank you!"

Velvet got up and hugged Yang, resting her head on Yang’s chest. Yang smiled and hugged Velvet back.

"Yang?" asked Velvet.  
"Yeah Velvet?" asked Yang.  
"Could you hang out with me today? Like, maybe go somewhere together?"  
"Sure. Where do you want to go?"  
"I don’t care." Velvet smiled and looked up to Yang. "As long I get to do it with you."

Velvet no longer felt she was in pain. Yang had ignited a spark of hope in Velvet’s life; a spark that lit Velvet out of the darkness she found herself trapped in for so long. Velvet could never take her life now. She had Yang’s friendship to live for.


End file.
